Feature: Bjorn’s Top Ten Games Released This Autumn

Gaming kicks back into high gear when the trees lose their leaves and rain lashes against our windows. Yes, the summer lull is over and Autumn is here. Sit back, get comfy, and let me tell you what games you need to be playing in the following months.

10. Resistance 3

The first of a load of “3s” in my rundown. Resistance 3 is the follow-up to game that was the sequel to a title nobody cared about. Resistance was meant to be Sony’s answer to Halo. it didn’t come close. Anyway, we’re on a third and it looks a solid, if unspectacular, title.

Resistance 3 is released exclusively for Playstation 3 on September 9th.

9. Gears Of War 3

I don’t get the fuss with the Gears Of War games. I found the first one to be incredibly dreary to look at, the gameplay repetitive, and the characters annoyingly gruff and idiotic. That said, I know the kids are down with this kind of thing so I feel that I have to include it. For the kids.

The trailers for this series have always been immaculately produced, and this one is no different. Gear Of War 3 is exclusive to the Xbox 360 and is released on September 20th.

8. Driver: San Francisco

The Driver franchise has a checkered history. It started off so well with Driver and Driver 2 on the PSOne. Riffing on ’70s chase movies, you played an undercover cop who infiltrated criminal gangs by being their getaway driver. They were enjoyable titles. Then came the next generation and a certain GTA 3 and the wheels flew off. In trying to compete with Rockstar’s baby, Driver lost everything that made it special. But now Driver is back and this time with a mad new twist – you can ‘jump’ from driver to driver while racing around the city of San Francisco. It’s hard to explain, you’ll just have to see it in action.

Madness. Driver: San Francisco is out on September 2nd

7. ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus Collection

These classic PS2 titles have undergone an HD makeover in readiness for the release of Team ICO’s The Last Guardian. ICO tells the tale of a young horned boy and his attempt to rescue a pale ghostly princess. Shadow Of The Colossus has you slaying giant beasts to bring a dead love back to life. Both are know for their emotion-packed storytelling.

ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus Collection is out on September 30th.

6. StarFox 64 3D

Originally released way back in 1997 on the Nintendo 64, this classic on-rails shooter is getting a brand new lick of 3D paint to make your barrel rolls look extra fancy.

Out in the UK on September 9th, it’s only the second game worthy of all those clams you laid down for your Nintendo 3DS.

5. FIFA 12

FIFA 11 was a bit of a step back in terms of playability compared to previous iterations. In a desperate attempt to appear more realistic it upped the defensive nature of the game but to the detriment of the fun, and when playing online people quickly realised that the computer AI was woefully unprepared to deal with long balls/balls of the top so every match became a horrible kick and punt travesty. And don’t even get me started on star players (Messi/Ronaldo/Rooney etc.) and their ability to score from outside the box each and every time they got the ball…

Here’s hoping that FIFA 12 can show some of these improvements. EA have made massive leaps and bounds in the franchise in recent years, it’s a shame for small niggles to get in the way of the enjoyment. I still have faith that it’ll bring the fun back. FIFA 12 is out on September 30th.

4. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Haters gonna hate, but the truth is who doesn’t want their five-hour or so adrenaline rush playing the preposterous single player or the days of endless grinding to rank up in multiplayer? Yeah, thought so.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be selling millions from November 8th.

3. Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Legend Of Zelda games are almost always brilliant. I expect no different for Skyward Sword. The first properly designed for Wii Zelda title, Skyward Sword may not be graphically outstanding, but I have absolutely no doubt it’ll be an amazing adventure. If only I had a Nintendo Wii…

Legend of Zelda is an exclusive to Nintendo Wii and is available in the UK from November 18th.

2. Batman: Arkham City

Oh, Bats! So close to number one, but not quite. I am super-excited to the follow-up to 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, though. The chance to take control of The Dark Knight in a massive open world city seems to good to be true. If they can maintain Asylum’s balance of stealthy take-downs, exploration, and full-on head-smashy violence while adding a greater variety of villains and still telling a fantastic story, there’s every chance this good be game of the year.

Couple the story mode with the enjoyable challenge rooms and this game could be being played well into the new year. Batman: Arkham City is out on October 21st.

1. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Uncharted is that sleeper series that comes from nowhere and becomes defining of that generation. Like Indiana Jones, with which it shares more than a passing similarity, Uncharted redefined what it is to be a video game blockbuster. 2009’s Uncharted 2: AmongThieves was one of the best games I’ve ever played. Action-packed, enjoyable, interesting story, and laugh out loud funny, it made you long for movies that entertaining. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception looks set to take this formula and, if possible, improve upon it.

Look’s like they can. Epic. Uncharted 3 is out in the UK exclusively on Playstation 3 on November 2nd.

I didn’t have a problem with the cel-shading. It was the bloody wind-waking mechanic that pissed me off. Couldn’t get my head round it. Also didn’t help that it came out around the time I fell out of love with games. Bloody Gamecube.